Report: Honda abandons 2017 sales target to focus on quality control

AUTO NEWS

Back to basics for Honda according to company CEO Takanobu Ito

by Marcus De Guzman

February 18, 2015 11:37

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. recently announced that they have scrapped their sales target of selling 6 million vehicles annually by 2017 due to numerous recalls tied with faulty Takata airbags and problems with the hybrid systems fitted on the Fit and Vezel. Additionally, the company also stated that they won't be setting a global sales target for their midterm plan.

According to Bloomberg, Takanobu Ito, the company CEO, said that he plans to bring Honda back to basics and that the company will no longer pursue business expansion as its main target and will instead focus on founding out the root cause for the air bag flaws and hybrid systems.

Recalls on the new Fit and Vezel nameplates on the other hand has hampered the Japanese automaker in releasing new vehicles by as long as 6 months. Tetsuo Iwamura, the company vice president stated that the recalls have led to a drop in domestic sales projection by 40,000.

With this in mind, Honda created a new position that will handle quality assurance and has appointed Koichi Fukuo to manage it. Along with his new position, Fukuo will also serve as the company executive vice president of Honda's R&D Co, the brand's independent research arm.

Earlier, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) slapped Honda with a USD 70 million fine after the company failed to submit early warning reports (EWR) regarding safety issues.